Pepperdine establishes scholarship in honor of 4 students killed in PCH crash

PREV. COVERAGE: Pepperdine mourns loss of 4 students

The Pepperdine University community is mourning the loss of four sorority sisters who died after getting hit by a BMW on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.

MALIBU, Calif. - Pepperdine University announced Thursday the establishment of a scholarship in honor of the four undergraduate students killed by a driver on the Pacific Coast Highway in October.

In collaboration with the families of Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams, the Malibu university set up the "Our Four Angels Endowed Scholarship."

Pepperdine Vice President for Student Affairs Connie Horton noted the "unique impact" of "these amazing women," in a message sent to students, staff and faculty Wednesday. "Their absence will be long felt on campus," she said.

The fund will contribute to the "academic pursuits of deserving students" and serve as "a beacon of hope and remembrance for the lives" that so profoundly touched the community, school officials said.

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The scholarship will be awarded to undergraduate students attending Pepperdine's Seaver College.

The four students, who were all 20 and 21 years old, were killed on the night of Oct. 17, when an allegedly speeding driver slammed into several parked cars on the north shoulder of the Pacific Coast Highway.

Asha Weir, Peyton Stewart, Deslyn Williams, Niamh Roland were killed in the tragic crash on PCH.

Sheriff's officials said those parked cars struck the four women, killing them at the scene.

The driver, Fraser Michael Bohm, was charged with four counts of murder and four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. His bail was set at $4 million, which he posted on Oct. 27, 2023. The 22-year-old was released from custody at that time.

Bohm's attorney has contended that Bohm was the victim of a road-rage incident on Pacific Coast Highway and was being chased when the crash occurred.

City News Service contributed to this report.